How to Brief Print Design: What We Actually Need From You

By The Printvine Team 26 June 2026 6 min read

The fastest route to a design you are happy with is not a twenty-page specification. It is a clear picture of the job: what the piece needs to achieve, what it must say and where somebody will encounter it.

You do not need design vocabulary. You do not need to decide the typeface, build a moodboard or arrive with every file perfectly organised. A useful brief simply gives the designer enough context to make good decisions—and makes clear which decisions are already fixed.

A vague request compared with a useful print-design brief The vague request says only that a flyer is needed. The useful brief identifies the audience, purpose, message, placement and deadline. THE DIFFERENCE IS CONTEXT, NOT DESIGN JARGON VAGUE NEW FLYER “Can you make this look good?” A format, but no job to solve. Every important decision is still a guess. USEFUL SUMMER MENU LAUNCH AUDIENCE People passing the café PURPOSE Get them through the door MESSAGE New menu · lunch from £8 PLACEMENT Handed out on the street DEADLINE Final files by 12 June Five facts create a design direction. Plain English is all the brief needs.
A good brief does not prescribe the design. It explains the problem the design must solve.

1. Start with the job—not the item

“I need a flyer” tells us what shape the answer might take. “I need a flyer to bring lunchtime footfall into our café” tells us what the answer must do.

That purpose shapes the hierarchy. A launch flyer may lead with a date. A promotional flyer may lead with the offer. A service leaflet may need to build trust before it discusses price. Two pieces can contain the same facts and still need completely different designs because the audience is making a different decision.

A useful opening sentence follows a simple pattern: We need [the item] to help [the audience] do or understand [the outcome].

For example: “We need an A5 flyer to help local parents discover our Saturday classes and book a trial.” That one sentence gives the work an audience, an action and a measure of success.

The same information arranged for two different purposes One flyer prioritises a Saturday opening and immediate visit. The other prioritises a menu and encourages the reader to keep it for reference. THE PURPOSE DECIDES WHAT GETS SEEN FIRST JOB 01 · CREATE URGENCY OPENING SATURDAY FREE COFFEE FOR THE FIRST 50 10AM · NORTHERN QUARTER The date and offer dominate. SAME CAFÉ DIFFERENT JOB JOB 02 · EXPLAIN THE RANGE LUNCH MENU SERVED 11.30–3PM SANDWICHES SMALL PLATES VEGAN OPTIONS Categories and usability dominate.
The content has not changed much. The order and emphasis have—because the job is different.

2. Give us the words—and tell us what is fixed

Send the substance: headlines, prices, dates, opening hours, contact details, calls to action and any terms that must appear. The copy does not need to be beautifully written, but it does need to be complete enough for us to understand the hierarchy.

It helps to mark the status of the content:

  • Exact: legal wording, product names, prices, phone numbers and anything that must appear verbatim.
  • Editable: copy we can tighten for clarity, length or tone without changing the meaning.
  • Optional: useful detail that can be removed if the design becomes crowded.

This distinction prevents two common problems: treating provisional wording as sacred, or rewriting something that was legally or commercially fixed. If you are unsure how much copy to send, give us the full version. It is easier to edit with context than to invent missing information.

3. Send the best brand assets you have

A good brief includes the materials that make the piece recognisably yours. Send the original logo file if you can—ideally vector artwork such as SVG, EPS or PDF—rather than a screenshot copied from a website. Supply photographs at their highest available resolution, before they have passed through WhatsApp, social media or another service that compresses them.

Brand guidelines are useful, but they are not a requirement. Existing menus, your website, a previous flyer or even a photograph of your shopfront can reveal the colours, tone and visual cues customers already associate with the business.

A useful brand-asset handover A vector logo, high-resolution photograph, colour references and existing printed material are arranged as a practical source pack. SEND THE SOURCE, NOT A SCREENSHOT OF THE SOURCE YOUR LOGO VECTOR · SVG / EPS / PDF ORIGINAL PHOTO · FULL RESOLUTION BRAND COLOUR VALUES IF KNOWN Existing material An old menu, brochure or website reference helps us preserve what customers already recognise—and improve what is not working.
You do not need a formal brand manual. The best available originals and a little context are enough to begin.

4. Show references—and explain your reaction

Two or three references can save a long conversation, but the useful part is not the link alone. Tell us what you respond to: “I like the generous spacing”, “this feels too corporate”, “ours should be warmer”, or “the price is easy to find”.

We use references to understand direction, not to copy another business. A screenshot with one sentence of explanation is more valuable than a folder of fifty unlabelled images. Examples you dislike can be just as revealing as examples you like.

5. Add the practical constraints

Finally, tell us where the finished piece will live. An A6 handout must survive a quick glance and perhaps a pocket. A menu must remain usable at a table. A poster has to work from several metres away. A downloadable PDF may need clickable links as well as a print version.

Include the final size or printer template if you already have one, whether the piece is single- or double-sided, and the date you need the final file. If a printer has supplied a specification, send it with the brief. We design the artwork; Printvine does not supply the printing, so the production requirements of your chosen printer take priority.

A deadline also needs context. “Opening on Friday” is more useful than “urgent”, because it lets everyone work backwards from the real-world event and leaves time for proofing, amendments and the printer’s own turnaround.

You do not need everything before you order

A clear brief matters, but it is not an entrance exam. With Printvine, you choose the artwork service you need and place the order first. Your portal then gives the content, files, notes, proofs and messages a proper home.

If the logo is still with a previous designer or the final price list is being checked, say so. We can distinguish between what is ready, what is provisional and what is still to come. What slows a job down is not an unfinished detail; it is an unknown dependency discovered after the layout has been built.

What is needed to order and what can follow in the portal The order begins with the artwork service and basic format. Purpose, copy, assets and references are then organised in the portal before design and proofing. START WITH THE BASICS · BUILD THE DETAIL IN ONE PLACE 01 · PLACE THE ORDER Choose the artwork service Add the known size, sides or fold. You do not need every file yet. 02 · BUILD THE BRIEF Purpose · copy · assets · references Keep additions and replacements together in the portal. 03 · REVIEW THE PROOF Comment on the design Check facts, hierarchy and tone. Keep feedback specific and collected. 04 · DOWNLOAD FINAL FILES PDF Print-ready for your printer Approved artwork, properly prepared. You stay in control of where it is printed. THE PRINCIPLE Start the order when you are ready. Make the brief complete before the design depends on it.
You can begin without every asset in hand. The portal keeps the moving parts visible as the brief becomes complete.

The short version

Tell us what the piece must achieve, who it is for, what it must say, which assets belong to the brand, what references reveal the right direction and where the finished design will be used.

Mark what is exact, what we may edit and what is still provisional. Send the best original files you have. If something is missing, tell us what it is and when it is likely to arrive.

You do not need to art-direct the answer. That is our job. Give us a clear problem, dependable content and honest constraints, and we can turn them into professional, print-ready artwork for the printer you choose.

See how ordering works → · Browse what we design → · Read our artwork guidelines →

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